1,041Chapter 2: Assembly
Harry wondered why the entire school would be called for a special, school-wide Divinations class. Every student from first year to seventh year, in all four of the houses had been called to the Great Hall. Every professor was in attendance. Dumbledore, Headmaster of the school, sat at the head table alongside Professor Sybil Trelawney. And Ron Weasley.
A gathering like this was something rare at Hogwarts, and for a special class on Divinations, it was unheard of. Harry Potter was naturally suspicious.
Dumbledore began to speak.
"It has come to my attention that recently, a True Prophecy was witnessed in our Divinations classroom. This is a rare thing indeed, even moreso that the seer who made the prophecy was not our esteemed professor of Divinations, Professor Sybill Trelawney, but one of her students, and a third year at that. It is true, that in fact, Mr. Ronald Weasley did make a prophetic pronouncement in front of witnesses, and the prophecy was fulfilled just as he said it would.
"It is for this reason, because of this important and historic event, that I felt that it would be in the interests of all students to understand the importance of this moment, and to gain a greater understanding into the art that is divinations. To this end, I will defer to Professor Trelawney's expertise. Professor?"
Albus Dumbledore sat down, the Divinations professor stood. She was looking uncharacteristically dignified. Usually, she had the appearance of one who was, ironically, short-sighted and somewhat batty. Now, however, her eyes shone piercingly through her thick framed glasses and she stood at the rectory without a hint of a stumble.
"As anyone who has taken the subject in my class can attest, divination is a subtle art. A mysterious magic that only the most attuned can appreciate." There were several murmurs and a few snickers at that. Hermione, for once, was one of the murmurers. "Only with decades of study and experience can the average witch or wizard begin to truly comprehend the Portents of Fate…" Trelawney trailed off as she finished that sentence, as if gazing at something in the far distance. Many students seemed awed by the theatrics, and a hush fell over the Hall.
"But to my great delight, though I must admit it is not a surprise at all to me…I did predict this on several occasions…that one of my students has verily opened his Inner Eye. Ronald Weasley of the Weasley family, is, in fact, a natural seer!"
The Great Hall erupted in clamorous, excited speech. Harry watched it all from his seat, taking it all in. Nothing Trelawney had said was news, yet the way she had presented it had electrified the school. Students hastily recounted witnessing Ron either make a prediction, a prediction coming true, or both. Something tickled at the back of Harry's mind and he turned to watch the Head Table. All of the teachers were reacting, trying to calm the students or scowling at them. All except for Albus Dumbledore who was just sitting serenely in his place. Dumbledore's eyes were taking in the commotion as if he had expected it.
He had expected it, Harry concluded. This was all an orchestrated act. And if Harry was right about belief powering the fulfillment of prophecy, then this was just going to bolster that belief in Ron as a seer. Harry and Dumbledor's gaze met momentarily and Harry felt a thrill of understanding in them. Professor Dumbledore must know about the nature of prophecy and he must know how this would affect things. What was he playing at, reinforcing their belief in Ron as a seer?
The crowd quieted as Dumbledore struck his glass three times with the tip of his wand, the sound of the tinkling crystal piercing through the Great Hall. When the noise quieted, the Headmaster gave a nod to the Divinations professor to continue. She inclined her head back to Dumbledore, and Harry could swear he noticed some kind of silent communication pass between them.
"Ahem," Trelawney coughed, "At first I was reserved about Mr. Weasley's prophecy. I was not sure whether he truly had The Sight, or if he had merely caught a glimpse of a possible future." The hush increased as the professor spoke of this. Harry blinked. It was a new concept for him. She had never spoken of there being possible futures before. "I was, therefore pleased, when Mr. Weasley's prophecy proved to be a True Prophecy of our own world. At last," she said, gazing over at Ron with an affectionate look, "a kindred spirit."
Ron visibly shuddered up there at the table.
"Over the past month, Mr. Weasley has made numerous prophetic statements, oftentimes without even realizing he was doing so. This only confirms what we had suspected," she nodded, "that he is a true seer. I, myself, had the same experience years ago after giving my first True Prophecy. The Inner Eye remains partially open for some time after such a vision. Ronald Weasley has received many glimpses of what will be, and subconsciously, he has been speaking prophetic words."
The Hall erupted in whispers, only to be silenced by Trelawney's next pronouncements.
"While only echoes of true prophecy, these minor predictions mark Mr. Weasley as having great potential in the field of divination. His Inner Eye will soon close, if it has not already, and the reliability of his visions and applicability to this world will soon fade, but he will always have a gift for knowing what is to come or what may be, at least in some capacity. And there very well may come a time when his Inner Eye will reawaken and he will deliver another True Prophecy."
Harry had not expected this. The murmurs in the Hall had a completely different tenor to them. Whereas moments before the belief in Ron's ability had become overwhelming, now there was a current of doubt. Harry's eyes opened wide. That was what Dumbledore was doing! He was seeding potential doubt in Ron's predictions while not outright denying his ability! For once, Harry paid strict attention to Professor Trelawney's explanations of things. She lectured briefly about the nature of the Inner Eye and viewing worlds without end. And it all simultaneously supported Ron's earlier prophecies and set him up to stop having visions.
And then Ron got up and spoke. He was halting in his speech, clearly uncomfortable in the spotlight. As he explained what it was like to feel the 'Inner Eye', he shot Harry a look that confessed what he was saying was utter bollocks and begged not to be reproached. Harry grinned devilishly at him in return, but Harry was far more interested in watching the Great Hall and Dumbledore.
The more he saw, the more he was convinced that he was right.
Weasley Seer
"And now, Mr. Weasley has a few words to share."
Ron stood in front of the school and gulped. Everyone was staring at him. He looked over at Harry and saw him nod, giving support. That was enough. He'd give it a go.
"Uh, hi everybody. I'm, uh, Ron Weasley." The Slytherin table snickered. He silently berated himself. Of course they all knew who he was already.
"Eh, it's like Professor Trelawney says, the Inner Eye thing, you know. Sometimes I will just sorta see what will happen, or maybe even daydream it or something." Ron stole a quick look at his professors. Many of them had a thoughtful expression.
Ron realized then that he had just earned himself a "get out of Azkaban free" card for daydreaming in class. Suddenly, this whole speaking in front of the school thing became a lot less scary and a lot more of an opportunity. But then he looked at all the rapt faces hanging on what he had to say. Better not to encourage that. Over the past few weeks it had gotten to be a bit too much.
"You see, when I saw what was going to happen to Neville, it was sort of like… I was in a trance or something. It wasn't me talking as much as my Inner Eye was talking through me. I'm still not really clear on that," Ron saw Hermione roll her eyes and Harry suppress his laughter. He hoped Harry and Hermione would still respect him after this. "Um, right, so, the thing is that at first I didn't really know what all I was seeing, but then it sorta got clearer, you know? And so I started knowing all sorts of things, like when it was going to rain, or about that flying pig."
Ron saw Harry snort and cover his mouth trying to keep from laughing. What he had really had said was that Harry and Snape would get along when pigs could fly. Who could know that there would be a charmed pig in Hogsmeade or that Snape and Harry would actually be civil with each other for a full 30 seconds?
"But, it's, you know, different from when I was in Professor Trelawney's class. And you know, it seems like now things are getting fuzzy again. So, sort of like she said…"
Ron glanced over towards the Slytherin table and saw Draco Malfoy snickering and mocking him. He scowled for a second. The prat. The blond haired snake was at his table doing a pantomime, mocking him.
Well then.
"So, yeah, that's about it. So, I'm not sure how much longer I'll…"
Ron's voice trailed off and his head lolled forward. The Great Hall went silent. And then Ron's head suddenly jerked upwards. When he spoke again, his voice was altered, deeper and without any emotion.
"The Hand of Fate moves. The Scion of Malfoy has been touched." All eyes suddenly looked at Draco. The already pale skinned boy went absolutely stark white, all his mocking gone. "The only son of the Malfoy House shall conceive and in nine months' time bear a child from his belly, a child of the pain and anguish caused by the power of the Dark Arts, sent to atone for the evil deeds of the House. And the child shall have no hair upon its head…"
Ron's head slumped back down. After a moment, Ron looked up again. All eyes turned back to him. "Uh, where was I? So, I guess, um, that's it." And then Ron sat back down.
The Great Hall erupted in frantic talking, and Draco Malfoy looked like he was about to choke to death.
Albus Dumbledore rose from his seat and walked over to the podium with a sigh. The crowd hushed and looked at the ancient wizard expectantly. Could it possibly be true? The Headmaster surveyed the assembled students, then looked over at Ron, who was sitting there as if oblivious to what had just happened.
"Well, it seems that Mr. Weasley has made another prediction. Let us hope that this one is of some other world or another future, and not this one, for Mr. Malfoy's sake." The looks of all the students directed towards Draco only increased after that preamble. Dumbledore sighed again. "But, to be safe, Draco is to see Madam Pomfrey for treatment at the end of this month and every two weeks after that. Let's hope we can nip this in the bud."
Harry had only one thought: Brilliant.
Please Review. Don't make me Imperius you.